We as members, contributors, collaborators, and stewards of the ERES Institute for New Age Cybernetics pledge to make participation in our community a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of age, body size, visible or invisible disability, ethnicity, sex characteristics, gender identity and expression, level of experience, education, socio-economic status, nationality, personal appearance, race, caste, color, religion, sexual identity and orientation, technical background, or familiarity with ERES terminology.
We pledge to act and interact in ways that contribute to an open, welcoming, diverse, inclusive, and healthy community — guided at all times by three non-negotiable principles:
Don't hurt yourself. Don't hurt others. Build for generations to come.
These are not aspirations. They are engineering requirements. Every interaction within this community is tested against them.
- Demonstrating empathy and kindness toward other people
- Being respectful of differing opinions, viewpoints, experiences, and levels of familiarity with ERES frameworks
- Giving and gracefully accepting constructive feedback — including substantive critique of ERES concepts, terminology, and claims
- Accepting responsibility and learning from mistakes without self-punishment or shame (NPR applies to yourself too)
- Focusing on what is best not just for us as individuals, but for the overall community and for generations to come
- Helping newcomers navigate ERES terminology without gatekeeping — the acronym density is real, and patience is a contribution
- Translating ERES concepts into accessible language for broader audiences
- Validating claims through independent testing (MIEVM methodology welcomes all instruments, not just the current four)
- Sharing knowledge openly under CCAL v2.1 — extraction of private epistemology into public record is the sharing of true wealth
- The use of sexualized language or imagery, and sexual attention or advances of any kind
- Trolling, insulting or derogatory comments, and personal or political attacks
- Public or private harassment
- Publishing others' private information (physical address, email, biometric data, identity credentials) without explicit permission
- Weaponizing ERES frameworks, metrics, or identity systems to exclude, coerce, rank, or punish individuals
- Extractive use of community contributions — taking without attribution, enclosing open-source work in proprietary systems
- Retaliating against anyone who files a concern, reports a vulnerability, critiques a framework, or speaks truth (see: Fear-of-Retribution Elimination)
- Other conduct which could reasonably be considered harmful in a community dedicated to building for generations to come
Community stewards are responsible for clarifying and upholding our standards of acceptable behavior. Stewards will take appropriate, fair, and non-punitive action in response to any behavior that they deem inappropriate, threatening, offensive, or harmful.
Community stewards have the responsibility to remove, edit, or reject comments, commits, code, wiki edits, issues, and other contributions that are not aligned to this Code of Conduct, and will communicate reasons for moderation decisions transparently and in writing.
Stewards are not enforcers. They are gardeners. The goal is a healthy ecosystem, not a controlled population.
This Code of Conduct applies within all ERES community spaces — including all GitHub repositories under ERES-Institute-for-New-Age-Cybernetics, Discussions, wiki pages, Issues, Pull Requests, and any communication channel operated by or on behalf of the ERES Institute.
It also applies when an individual is officially representing the ERES community in public spaces, including using the official email address (eresmaestro@gmail.com), posting via official social media accounts, presenting ERES work at conferences (e.g., DBDM 2026), or acting as an appointed representative at an online or offline event.
This community does not use punitive enforcement. All responses to conduct concerns follow Non-Punitive Remediation v3.0 with the HowWay Declaration.
The standard Contributor Covenant uses an escalating enforcement ladder: Warning → Temporary Ban → Permanent Ban. ERES replaces this entirely. Punishment does not produce the outcomes we need. Learning does. Remediation does. Restoration does.
Applies when: A community member's behavior does not align with this Code of Conduct through misunderstanding, unfamiliarity, cultural difference, or momentary lapse.
Response: A private, written message from a community steward — not a warning but a dialogue. The message acknowledges the impact, explains the community standard, invites the person's perspective, and offers support. The goal is mutual understanding. No record is kept beyond the conversation itself unless the person requests it for their own learning.
Principle: Don't hurt yourself.
Applies when: A pattern of behavior has emerged that, despite dialogue, continues to cause harm to community members.
Response: A structured remediation plan developed collaboratively between the community steward and the person. This may include a temporary cooling-off period (not a ban — the person is told they are welcome back and given a specific, short timeframe), mentorship pairing with an experienced community member, or specific behavioral commitments the person designs for themselves. The person retains full access to read all materials throughout.
Principle: Don't hurt others.
Applies when: Behavior constitutes sustained harassment, threat of violence, doxxing, discriminatory abuse, or deliberate weaponization of ERES systems against individuals — and Levels 1–2 have been exhausted or the severity is immediate.
Response: Removal of interaction privileges for a defined period, with a documented pathway to return. The pathway is specific, achievable, and communicated in writing. Permanent removal is a last resort reserved for cases involving direct threats to physical safety. Even at this level, the person is told what the pathway back looks like. No one is thrown away.
Principle: Build for generations to come — including this person's future self.
- NPR never shames publicly
- NPR never retaliates
- NPR never punishes disclosure or critique
- NPR never treats a conduct concern as an opportunity to demonstrate authority
- NPR never creates a permanent record that follows a person beyond the specific remediation context
The decision pathway — How the community responds — is as important as What it responds to. The pathway itself must be transparent, replicable, and subject to NPR if it fails. There is no remediation process that is exempt from remediation. If a community steward mishandles a conduct concern, that mishandling is itself a conduct concern and receives the same NPR treatment.
This Code of Conduct incorporates by reference the Fear-of-Retribution Elimination provisions of the SECURITY.md and the ERES-SCALULAR-ENGINE-2026.
No contributor shall fear retribution for:
- Filing a conduct concern against any community member, including stewards and the founder
- Reporting a security vulnerability, governance failure, or data integrity issue
- Critiquing ERES frameworks, terminology, claims, or methodology
- Possessing knowledge about systemic problems and choosing to share it
- Speaking truth in any form within community spaces
This guarantee is architectural, not aspirational. It is enforced by the structure of the community itself, not by the goodwill of any individual. If the structure permits retribution, the structure is broken and must be repaired through NPR.
Email: eresmaestro@gmail.com — Subject: [CONDUCT] Brief description
GitHub: Open a Discussion in the Discussions repository with the conduct label
Anonymous: Pseudonymous GitHub account or IPIDITIS-verified anonymous channel (when operational)
- Acknowledgment within 72 hours
- Assessment within 14 days
- Remediation plan (collaborative, not imposed) within 30 days
- Zero retribution — guaranteed by this Code and the SCALULAR Engine's architectural protections
- Confidentiality — reporter identity protected unless the reporter chooses otherwise
All conduct reports are received and reviewed by Joseph A. Sprute (ERES Maestro) as sole steward of the ERES Institute. As the community grows, stewardship will be distributed through CBGMODD seven-stakeholder governance and SOMT sociocratic decision-making — ensuring that no single individual holds permanent authority over conduct remediation.
This Code of Conduct is not separate from the ERES architecture — it is an expression of it.
| ERES Framework | Code of Conduct Application |
|---|---|
| C = R × P / M | Community resources (R) directed by shared purpose (P) through the most efficient method (M) = maximum cybernetic output |
| NPR v3.0 | All remediation is non-punitive. No exceptions. |
| SCALULAR | Conduct literacy is part of the SSSC (Solid-State Smart-City Citizen) baseline credential |
| BEST/SOUND/GOOD | BEST: Is the person's bio-electric/emotional state considered? SOUND: Is the governance response structurally sound? GOOD: Does the outcome serve generations? |
| Proof-of-Resonance | Community health is measured by resonance (harmony, coherence, mutual benefit) — not by compliance, obedience, or silence |
| MIEVM | Multiple perspectives validate the truth of any situation. No single viewpoint is sufficient. |
| Storm Party | The same community architecture that operates in good times operates in crisis. No emergency powers that override civil protections. |
This Code of Conduct is released under the CARE Commons Attribution License v2.1 (CCAL), consistent with all ERES Institute publications.
It is adapted from the Contributor Covenant, version 2.1, with NPR v3.0 replacing the standard enforcement ladder. The Contributor Covenant's Community Impact Guidelines were originally inspired by Mozilla's code of conduct enforcement ladder. ERES respectfully departs from the enforcement-ladder model in favor of Non-Punitive Remediation, while honoring the Contributor Covenant's foundational commitment to inclusion, safety, and belonging.
For answers to common questions about the Contributor Covenant, see the FAQ.
ERES Institute for New Age Cybernetics — Est. February 2012
"Don't hurt yourself. Don't hurt others. Build for generations to come."